Pregnancy
, a noticeably pregnant Deanna Troi, and Doctor Katherine Pulaski]] Pregnancy is the period of reproduction during which a member of a species (typically, but not always, a female) carries one or more live offspring from implantation through gestation. Obstetrics was the branch of medical science that specialized in the care of lifeforms during pregnancy, childbirth, and the subsequent recovery period following delivery. Those who practiced this form of medicine were known as obstetricians or obstetrics specialists. ( ; ) Species variations Bajorans Bajoran females carried their children for less than five months and, because they had a short gestation period, they vascularized very quickly, forming a complex interconnecting network of blood vessels with their children. Bajoran women did not suffer from morning sickness like Humans, but were instead prone to uncontrollable fits of sneezing. In 2373, Doctor Bashir attempted to develop a small respirator to alleviate Kira's sneezing. ( ) Bajoran women were commonly given Makara herbs in order to maintain their progesterone levels during pregnancy, though the herbs counteracted sedatives such as merfadon. ( ) Betazoids Female Betazoids carried their young for 10 months. Sometimes, when carrying Betazoid babies, Betazoid mothers could telepathically sense the infant's thoughts. ( ; ) Breen Among the Breen, a warlike species, pregnancy at a young age is a common event. ( ) Ferengi On the planet Ferenginar, pregnancy was considered a rental, and as a lessee, the male Ferengi had certain rights. ( ) Humans Human females typically carried their children for 37-42 weeks (genericized as "nine months" even though 9.5-10.5 is considered "term"). Females often suffered from morning sickness and woke up feeling nauseous, though morning sickness usually ended after the first trimester. Additionally, they often gained extra weight and suffered mood swings. Having contractions was not uncommon in the late months of pregnancy. ( ; ) Klingons Klingon females carried their children for 30 weeks, though The Doctor believed that the gestation period for Klingon-Human hybrids would likely be less. The Doctor advised a pregnant B'Elanna Torres to expect mood swings during her pregnancy. ( ) :Worf stated that a male should have some say in what a pregnant female can and cannot do, indicating that in Klingon society, a father is expected to play a major part in childrearing, even before birth. ( ) Ocampa Members of the Ocampa species typically become pregnant between the age of four and five. Females carry their young in a pouch on their back called a mitral sac. ( ) Scathos Among the Scathos species, any woman who conceives a child before her fourth decade is summarily executed. ( ) Yridians In the Yridian culture, a male that impregnates a female with no intentions of taking responsibility for his actions dishonors the female's family. Yranac claimed that if his sister were ever defiled in such a way, he would do or pay anything to find the person responsible. ( ) :This feeling is likely shared by many cultures, including the Altec. ( ) Male Pregnancy On Earth, the majority of all pregnancies were carried by female organisms. In 2151, after an encounter with a female Xyrillian, Charles Tucker III became the first recorded Human male to become pregnant (though he was more of a carrier of genetic information than an actual biological parent and never carried the child to term). ( ) Males of Vilix'pran's species, a winged race from the Alpha or Beta Quadrant, were known to carry their young (referred to as budding). ( ) :Male pregnancy in non-humans may be relatively common, as Quark became confused when he mistook that Miles O'Brien was pregnant instead of his wife, Keiko, stating "''I thought your females carried your young." It is also possible that Quark was joking. ( )'' Complications There were both routine problems and serious, even potentially fatal problems with pregnancy. Ensign Samantha Wildman experienced many difficulties with her pregnancy on board , including shooting pains in the lower back and legs. ( ) It was recommended that caffeine intake during pregnancy be limited to avoid complications or negatively affecting infant development. Miles O'Brien had Quark develop a decaffeinated raktajino (which Odo sarcastically referred to as Quarktajino) for a pregnant Kira Nerys, though the beverage ended up being undrinkable. ( ) Pregnancies involving a hybrid being could sometimes result in complications. During the delivery of Samantha Wildman's child, its Ktarian ridges lodged in the uterine wall. This threatened to rupture the uterus and cause internal bleeding and possibly death. While the child was safely transported out of Wildman, it did not survive because of a power loss to critical medical equipment. However, the same procedure was performed aboard a duplicate Voyager and was successful and was brought over before the duplicate Voyage''r was destroyed. She was given the name Naomi. ( ) List of Pregnancies checking on Ekoria's baby]] * Ekoria ( ) * Eleen ( ) * Gracie ( ) * Indava ( ) * Kathryn Janeway ( ) * Francisca Juarez ( ) * K'Ehleyr ( ; revealed in ) * Kes (alternate timeline; ) * Winona Kirk ( ) * Kira Nerys ( to ) * Lursa of the House of Duras ( ) * Mika ( ) * Miramanee ( ) * Nero's wife ( ) * Keiko O'Brien ( ) and ( to ) * Alyssa Ogawa ( ) * Seska ( ) * Spot ( ) * B'Elanna Torres ( to ) * Deanna Troi ( ) * Lwaxana Troi ( ) * Charles Tucker III ( ) * Vilix'pran (budding) ( and ) * Samantha Wildman ( to ; found out in ) * Yanar ( ) * Kasidy Yates-Sisko ( through ) Appendices Background Actresses that have been pregnant while playing roles on ''Star Trek include Gates McFadden, Roxann Dawson, and Nana Visitor. McFadden's and Dawson's pregnancies were hidden on-screen (McFadden performed a complex stunt in just before discovering she was pregnant), while a surrogate pregnancy was written into Visitor's character, Kira Nerys, in . Dawson's pregnancy was seen onscreen in the episodes and . It was written into the character as a holographic pregnancy. External link * de:Schwangerschaft Category:Biology Category:Sex and reproduction